//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Living Accommodations // Story: The King of Swing // by The Sonic Mage //------------------------------// Luna was fairly sure she would have won if Night Light hadn’t come in to abruptly end their card game. Still, they couldn’t stay there forever. So, they donned their disguises and exited the library.  “So, Light,” Radiant asked, “Where do we go from here?”  Night Light straightened out his everyday vest, “I’m gonna go ahead and assume none of you have any Imperial currency, or money in general, right?” The three disguised ponies looked to one another, none of them being able to say “yes”. Light sighed. “In that case, it would appear that you guys are staying at my place” Radiant looked shocked, “Wait, what?” “It is awfully nice of you to make such an offer,” Sunny Skies said, “But we couldn’t possibly impose upon you-” “Do any of you have a better idea?” Light asked, receiving silence as an answer again. “Then follow me,” he said, “My place is a little ways away. Walk quickly, but don’t run. And we get stopped, let me do the talking.” Light led them down the dark streets. They went past houses filled with the sound of domestic life, and street lanterns glowing in the night.  As the continued past closed up shops, the distant sound of marching hooves came to their ears.  “Wait,” Light stopped walking, as did the rest of the group.” “What is the matter?” Starry Night asked.  Night Light didn’t say anything. The sound of marching got louder as it got closer.  “Let’s go this way.” Light turned left on a corner.  “Light, what’s wro-” Radiant began, only for Night Light to cut her off. “Look, it’s unnecessary stress, time, and excuses. Now do you want to avoid getting caught or what?” The three disguised ponies complied, and followed Light down the path. It took them a bit of walking to get to the building, since it was in the outer sectors of the Empire, but they managed to get there. It was a simple two story building that fit right in with many of the other buildings they had passed. Light walking up to the front door of the building, pulling out his keys and taking hold of the handle. He briefly paused, looking back at the the ponies he had been escorting. “What is it, Light?” Radiant asked. “Until we get to my room,” Light said in a slightly hushed tone, “Don’t make a sound.” “Why?” Radiant questioned. “Just. Don’t. Okay?” ‘Sunny Skies’ gave a small bow, “We shall be as quiet as possible.” Night Light nodded, and slowly opened the door. He guided the three ponies into the foyer, before motioning for them to go up a flight of stairs on their right. The trio of newcomers went up first, with Night Light behind them. They were all incredibly quiet, until ‘Starry Night’ put her foot down on a step, and it gave a quite noticeable creak. Starry almost back pedaled and Light winced. Almost immediately after the stairs groaned, a voice called out from behind the closed door at the bottom of the steps. “Night Light,” called the voice of an old mare, “Is that you?” Light sighed. “Yes, Ms. Penny, it’s me.” “What are you doing back so late?” “I work the night-shift at the library, remember?” “Oh,” Ms. Penny said, “Of course. Do forgive me.” “It’s no problem Ms. Penny,” Night Light began to motion for the rest to keep going. “Um, Night Light,” Ms. Penny called, “You haven’t brought anypony home with you, have you?”  The three disguised ponies froze, looking to Light, who was tense. He took a breath and looked back to the closed door.   “No, Ms. Penny,” Light assured, “No pony but myself.” “Alright then,” the elderly mare said, “Sleep well, Night Light.” “You to, Ms. Penny.” Light quietly hurried his compatriots up the stairs to a door at the top. “Sorry about that,” Light apologized. “The fault is mine,” ‘Starry Night’ said.  “We can play the blame game some other time,” Light said, “Right now, let’s get inside.” He fiddled with his keys some more, before he found the one he was looking for. Inserting the key, he unlocked the second door, revealing a dark room inside. The trio was dubious. “It, uh, looks very cozy.” “Oh, right,” Light stepped into the doorway, taking hold of a knob attached to a pipe on the wall with his magic, and twisted it, “Forgot to turn the lights on.” An arrangement of crystals hanging from the roof lit up, illuminating the room. The trio of disguised ponies looked around the now illuminated room with awe. Specifically at the glowing crystals on the ceiling. At the Library, they had been too busy figuring out what had happened in the Empire to ask how Night Light lit up the Library. At the time they figured it was just some kind of spell. But this…this was something else. “Home, Sweet Home,” Light said, letting out a happy sigh, “I’m gonna go wash my muzzle. You guys make yourselves comfortable for a bit.” He made his way over to the washroom.  Radiant and the Princesses slowly walked into the living room.  The room wasn’t the most tidy or neat space any of them had seen, but it certainly wasn’t the messiest. There were a few dirty dishes and cups sharing the coffee table in the center of the room with opened letters and random bits of paper work. There was a small shelf unit positioned under one of the two windows in the room, with house plants placed on the top shelf, close to the window. On the lower shelves, one could find a collection of small books & novellas. Some were mystery, others adventure, with the thicker books on the bottom shelf being history books. In regards to furniture there was a single, worn armchair and refurbished couch in the small living room. Both of which were positioned around the coffee table. The fabric was faded and the cushions were a tad disheveled, but the space wasn’t unlivable.  “Well,” Luna said, “I’ll admit, this seems rather cozy.” “It’s certainly not what I expected,” Celestia confessed, “Then again, much of what we’ve seen and heard today isn’t what we expected.” The solar Princess turned to their unicorn companion. “What do you think, Radiant?” Radiant didn’t answer. She was too lost in her thoughts to hear. She was staring at the glowing crystals on the ceiling that lit up the room. The sight of them made her question a lot of things. Aside from them raising the usual questions of “What’s going on here?”, “What’s happening?”, and “What else has changed?”, the crystals also raised another question: “Why do these seem so familiar?”  By all logic, they shouldn’t seem familiar. After all, Radiant had never seen an enchantment where somepony turned a knob on a wall and caused crystals to glow. Yet, they did. The light didn’t feel new. She had seen light like this before. She just couldn’t put her hoof on it. “Radiant?” The voice of Princess Celestia broke Radiant from her deep train of thought, bringing her back to awareness again.  “You’ve been zoning out often. Are you alright?” “I…” Radiant put a hoof to her forehead, trying to ease the headache she was giving herself with her endless pondering. “I think I just want to get some rest.” “Good,” Night Light emerged from the doorway that lead to the bathroom, a towel over his shoulders, “Because I was just about to ask who wanted to sleep where in the living room.” “Radiant, how about you sleep on the couch,” Celestia proposed. “Oh, no,” Radiant shook her head, “I couldn’t possibly ask you to sacrifice your comfort for-” “My sister and I are perfectly capable of making ourselves comfortable elsewhere,” Luna interrupted. “But…I-” “You just offered the couch by Royalty,” Night Light interrupted, “Are you going to take it or leave it?”  “Alright, alright,” Radiant caved, making her way to the couch. “Here,” Night Light tossed her a blanket and pillow. “Thank you…” Luna looked to her older sibling. “Now then sister, shall we tough it out to see who gets the chair?” Celestia smirked. “I don’t see why not.” But before they could begin whatever competition they had in mind, blankets fell over their heads and pillows were thrown squarely at their faces. “Luna’s smaller, she gets the chair. Celestia, you’re on the carpet.” Night Light had swiftly intervened. “What!?” Both sisters responded, clearly somewhat upset. “My house, my rules, no roughhousing.” ‘Oh by Faust, I just ordered about The Royal Sisters,’ Light thought giddily without change in his stern expression, ‘This is amazing!’ “Very well then,” Luna sighed, slowly walking over to the armchair, while Celestia made herself comfortable on the floor. Light gave her an extra blanket to be a makeshift mattress. “Alright then,” Night Light said as he turned off the glowing crystals, “Good night everypony.”  The four ponies then lay down their heads and began drifting off to sleep.  One unicorn mare, however, was finding it difficult to keep her eyes closed. Even if she managed to drift into dream land, she didn’t think she’d like what she’d find there.